1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for and a method of reading radiation image information recorded in a stimulable phosphor panel that is stored in a cassette, thereafter erasing remaining radiation image information from the stimulable phosphor panel, and discharging the stimulable phosphor panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has heretofore been known a radiation image information reading and erasing apparatus employing a stimulable phosphor panel which, when exposed to an applied radiation, stores part of the energy of the radiation, and, when subsequently exposed to applied stimulating rays such as visible light, emits light in proportion to the stored energy of the radiation.
The radiation image information reading and erasing apparatus includes a cassette loader for loading a plurality of cassettes each storing a stimulable phosphor panel which records therein radiation image information of a subject such as a human body, a reading unit for applying stimulating light to the stimulable phosphor panel removed from one of the cassettes to read the radiation image information from the stimulable phosphor panel, an erasing unit for applying erasing light to the stimulable phosphor panel from which the radiation image information has been read to erase remaining radiation image information from the stimulable phosphor panel, and a cassette discharger for discharging the stimulable phosphor panel stored in the cassette after the remaining radiation image information has been erased from the stimulable phosphor panel.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-156716 discloses a radiation image reading apparatus. The disclosed radiation image reading apparatus operates as follows. A cassette storing a stimulable phosphor sheet is introduced from a cassette insertion slot into an apparatus housing, and thereafter the stimulable phosphor sheet is removed from the cassette and supplied to a reading unit and an erasing unit. After the stimulable phosphor sheet is processed by the reading unit and the erasing unit, the stimulable phosphor sheet is put back into the cassette that is remaining in the same location in the apparatus housing, and then the cassette holding the stimulable phosphor sheet therein is discharged out of the apparatus housing through a cassette discharge slot.
In the disclosed radiation image reading apparatus, the cassette introduced into the apparatus housing remains in the same location until the processing of the stimulable phosphor sheet with the reading unit and the erasing unit is completed. Since the cassette stays in the apparatus housing, the next cassette cannot be introduced into the apparatus housing. Therefore, the disclosed radiation image reading apparatus is disadvantageous in that it is unable to process a plurality of cassettes efficiently at the same time.